next TreeSpirit photo @ Oakland's Lake Merritt, Sat AM, June 16th, 2007
Dear friends of The TreeSpirit Project,
Photographer and tree-hugger Jack Gescheidt here with a brief email about the next TreeSpirit photo, esp. for those of you in the East Bay who'd like to participate.
Save the date: Saturday, June 16th, at Oakland's Lake Merritt, approx. 7-10am. (Exact time, duration and meeting place will be disclosed later to participants and credentialed media.)
As with recent TreeSpirit photos in both Berkeley and Santa Cruz, our gathering is designed to draw attention to the plight of specific trees slated for destruction — at Lake Merritt, over 200 mature trees are for destruction in the name of "development" and "improvement."
Current plans to improve the Lake Merritt waterfront include cutting down over 200 mature trees. Why? Because it's faster, easier, and cheaper to tear them out and re-design on cleared land.
The problem with this plan? Mature trees are an incredibly valuable resource Lake Merritt and Oakland and the Bay Area can't afford to lose so easily and so unnecessarily. These big trees clean pollutants from both the air and ground water with their extensive leaf and root systems. Hundreds of replacement saplings the city plans to plant can't match this prodigious environmental work these mature trees perform for Lake Merritt and Oakland. They also: beautify the lake; make precious shade for walkers and joggers; provide habitat for numerous bird, mammal and insect species and numerous other benefits. Saplings, while welcome as additional trees in a revised development plan, cannot replace mature trees. (Greater detail will be provided in subsequent emails.)
Email me if you'd like to be on the guest list for this event, a celebratory demonstration of the importance of big, mature trees and our human interdependence with them. If you value trees for all they provide us practically and emotionally; if you love Lake Merritt's mature trees; if you love Lake Merritt; if you would enjoy making a community artwork outdoors with fellow tree lovers in a safe environment; if you love adventure—come join us on the morning of Saturday, June 16th.
Sincerely,
Jack
Jack Gescheidt
4340 Anza St.
San Francisco, CA 94121
Tel: 415.668.5225
jack@treespiritproject.com
http://www.TreeSpiritProject.com
A photographic celebration of our connection to nature. |